Among our Vietnam photography tours, Muong Hum and Y Ty stand out as must-see highlights, thanks to their untouched, otherworldly landscapes. Starting from Hanoi, the new highway takes you to Lao Cai in just 4.5 hours, followed by a scenic 1.5-hour drive to the Muong Hum-Y Ty region. Along the way, you’ll witness a breathtaking panorama of mountains, lush forests, terraced rice fields, and traditional hill-tribe communities—all offering incredible photographic opportunities.
Muong Hum and Y Ty remain off the beaten path, free from mass tourism, and rich with authentic cultural and natural beauty. This exclusivity has made it a favorite destination for Vietnamese photographers seeking to capture the country’s finest landscapes. If you’re considering a Vietnam photography tour, this is an experience you don’t want to miss, especially during the prime photography months of May to June and September to October, when the rice terraces are at their most vibrant.
Join us to explore the pristine beauty of Muong Hum and Y Ty and elevate your portfolio with unique, unforgettable shots
Photography the rice terraces of Muong Hum and Y Ty
There’s no doubt that most people go to Muong Hum and Y Ty in search of the best landscape shots. As the region is home to an unparalleled combination of rice terraces and mountains. And this region is, thus, a favorite shooting point for our team at Momentlives – Vietnam photography tours.
For centuries, Vietnam’s ethnic minority communities have shaped the mountains into iconic terraced steps for rice cultivation, creating a breathtaking landscape perfect for photography. These terraces serve as natural irrigation systems: during the rainy season, each tier becomes a reservoir, capturing water that gradually flows from one level to the next, all the way down the valley. This seasonal transformation makes the terraces incredibly photogenic, as each water-filled step acts as a mirror, reflecting the sky, clouds, and even the daily life of people working the fields.
This natural “mirror effect” gives photographers endless opportunities to capture unique shots that shift dramatically with the changing light throughout the day
And what makes our experience more well-worth is that the farm works are done by hands. You will be seeing farmers transporting the seedlings on their shoulders. Then they hand-transplant the seedlings into the mud. Each section of the rice terrace then becomes a stage for your photography creativity. And the terraces stretch out all over the region. It’s not an exaggeration to say that a week here is just barely enough.
Among our Vietnam photography tours, this photo tour offers multiple days dedicated to shooting at sunrise and sunset.
Photographing at sunrise and sunset in these mountainous regions brings out an incredible depth and layering effect that adds rich dimension to your images. The overlapping mountain ranges create natural frames and guide the eye through the photograph, adding dynamic movement and inviting the viewer to explore each detail. This layered effect gives your photos a unique, mesmerizing quality, making every shot a storytelling masterpiece.
Our photography tour ensures that every day you’re positioned at the most breathtaking viewpoints, capturing Vietnam’s landscapes at their finest under the golden and soft evening light
Muong Hum is a the heart of a beautiful market. Held every Sunday, this vibrant weekly market is one of the most colorful in the region, bringing together a lively mix of sounds, sights, and traditional costumes of the local ethnic minorities. For photographers, it’s an opportunity to step back in time and capture the authentic rhythms of local life against the stunning backdrop of the Muong Hum hills.
Long ago, the hill tribes of Vietnam scattered across mountaintops, and reaching other villages was a challenge due to rugged terrain and minimal infrastructure. Once-a-week markets like Muong Hum became essential gathering spots for trade, connection, and community. Each Sunday morning, starting as early as 5:00 a.m., locals from various minority groups travel to this bustling hub, carrying handmade goods and essential supplies, ready to exchange, socialize, and celebrate their heritage.
Muong Hum Market is an open canvas for photographers eager to capture rural mountain life. Here, you’ll find colorful traditional clothing, authentic foods, handmade silver jewelry, medicinal herbs, and countless other unique items that embody life in the mountains. In one corner, women barter over delicate silver jewelry, while a group of men chat over steaming bowls of noodle soup and sips of homemade rice liquor. Smoke rises from food stalls, filling the air with enticing aromas, and the rich tapestry of faces, costumes, and cultural exchange creates endless opportunities for dynamic, storytelling photography.
With every angle offering a new story, Muong Hum Market is a must-visit for photographers seeking to capture Vietnam’s vibrant cultural diversity.
On this photography tour, we will have the opportunities to photograph the local minority people living in Y Ty. These are the artists behind the ascending rice terraces in Muong Hum – Y Ty area.
The Vietnamese people generally speaking, are open to photography. In Muong Hum and Y Ty, as long as you show sign of friendliness, you’re more than welcome to press the button. We will be photographing people at work (in the rice field), trading in the market, and in their community. But by no mean we are talking about pointing a long lens at someone’s face. Nor do we go into any house where it has been set up to be a stage. We’re talking about candid people photography.
One of the highlights of our photography tour is a visit to a Ha Nhi community in Y Ty. They number 22,000 and they’re among the smallest groups of people in Vietnam by population. They live in a special kind of house called “Trinh Tuong” – with a thick earthen walls and a grass roof. All Trinh Tuong houses have an earthen floor, without any tiles. This design keeps the inside cool in summer time and warm in winter time. Looking from a distance, every house shapes like a little mushroom. The scene is even more abstract if clouds partly cover the village.
Life of the Ha Nhi largely depends on agriculture, breeding cattle and forestry. Kids go to school and learn Vietnamese, given that the Ha Nhi have their own language. In everyday’s life, they wear their traditional costume with black being the main color, decorated by blue stripes.
So, join us and spend our time soaking in landscape photography of Vietnam, as well as capturing the essence of mountain life. And this is your unique Vietnam photography tour to Muong Hum and Y Ty!
